Astral Knights
The Astral Knights were a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter from an unknown Founding and origin. The Astral Knights sacrificed nearly their entire Chapter in 926.M41 to destroy the hideous threat to the Imperium called the World Engine in the Vidar Sector. This Necron weapon was a planet-sized spacecraft, armed with Gauss Projectors capable of scorching entire planets of all life on their surface. The remaining Battle-Brothers who had not been present with the majority of the Chapter were too few in number to carry the burden of reconstruction. Shortly after the battle the Astral Knights were struck from the roster of active Space Marine Chapter and another Chapter, the Sable Swords, were created to fill the void and took up stewardship of the now all-but abandoned Astral Knights fortress-monastery on the world of Prism. Chapter History Notable Campaigns *'Castigation of Acralem (799.M41)' - The Flesh Tearers, working in conjunction with the Astral Knights, the Grey Knights of the 3rd Brotherhood (which included Kaldor Draigo) and nine regiments of the Imperial Guard, descended upon the Imperial world of Acralem to halt the daemonic incursion of the infamous Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn and his daemonic army. What followed was once of the most terrible battles of that century, though ultimately the Imperial forces proved victorious and M'kar was banished back to the Warp for a time. *'Assault on the Necron World Engine (926.M41)' - The massive Necron construct known as the World Engine was attacked in the Vidar Sector by 15 Space Marine task forces plus elements from the Imperial Navy, and even the mightiest weapons the Imperial forces could bring to bear could not harm it. Drop Pods and torpedoes could not penetrate its shields and it was impossible to lock on to with teleport beams. The Imperial task force tried twelve times to overwhelm it through sheer valour and firepower and was rewarded with a string of destroyed and crippled starships and millions of casualties. The World Engine destroyed a third of an entire Imperial Navy battlefleet before the Chapter Master of the Astral Knights decided to ram the hideous vessel with his Battle Barge, the Tempestus. It was only when the enormous Space Marine starship collided with the Necron construct's shields that they finally failed, allowing the Imperial forces to approach their target. A force of over 700 Astral Knights deployed from Drop Pods onto the Necron vessel's surface. For over 100 hours the Astral Knights fought against tens of thousands of Necron warriors and destroyed every flux generator, weapon forge and command node they came upon. Only after the Chapter had been reduced in size to the Chapter Master, Arthor Amhrad, and five Battle-Brothers did they succeed in their quest. Amhrad detonated Melta-charges that destroyed a vast Necron tomb complex that housed many of the World Engine's command arrays which brought down the vessel's impenetrable Void Shields and also silenced the machine's weaponry. This allowed the Imperial Navy's starships to destroy the World Engine with Cyclonic Torpedoes. After the battle, as the Adeptus Mechanicus picked over the remains of the destroyed World Engine, the Ultramarines retrieved the twisted wreckage of the Tempestus and placed it amid the ruins of Safehold, the planet that had been the last victim of the World Engine. The 2nd and 4th Companies of the Blood Angels had been amongst the Astartes task forces dispatched to the Vidar Sector to assist their fellow Space Marines against the threat posed by the World Engine. After the sacrifice of the Astral Knights lead to the final destruction of the World Engine, Captain Donatos Aphael of the 2nd Company proposed that an Imperial shrine be erected upon the world of Safehold in eternal memory of the Astral Knights Chapter. The shrine consists of seven hundred and seventy-two arbalstone statues, one for every Astral Knight Battle-Brother that died stopping the World Engine, that stands a silent vigil within the dead heart of the Tempestus. From that day forth, 2 Blood Angels of the 2nd Company, and Battle-Brothers from nearly a dozen other Chapters, are always assigned to stand guard over the memorial, which is considered a singular honour for the Astartes that fought beside them for the last time. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colours The Astral Knights' colour scheme is not listed in current Imperial records. Chapter Badge The Astral Knights' Chapter badge is not recorded in current Imperial records. Notable Astral Knights *'Arthor Amhrad' - The final Chapter Master of the Astral Knights Chapter, Arthor Amhrad detonated Melta-charges that destroyed a vast Necron tomb complex that housed many of the World Engine's command arrays which brought down the vessel's impenetrable Void Shields. This allowed the Imperial Navy's starships to destroy the World Engine with Cyclonic Torpedoes. Amhrad willingly sacrificed what remained of his Chapter for the sake of saving millions, perhaps billions of human lives. He is considered one of the greatest heroes of the Imperium for his tremendous sacrifice. Sources *''Codex: Blood Angels'' (5th Edition), p. 16 *''Codex: Grey Knights'' (5th Edition), p. 38 *''Codex: Necrons'' (5th Edition), p. 26 *''Codex: Space Marines'' (5th Edition), pp. 44-45, 49 Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:A Category:Space Marines Category:Imperium